Peter Mark, the Lyric Opera Virginia maestro who was artistic director of Virginia Opera until his dismissal in November 2010, has been named artistic director emeritus of his former company.

The honor is a sign of reconciliation between Mark and the institution he helped found and led for 36 years. “The [Virginia Opera] board and Peter decided that it was time to come to a resolution of differences, and that’s what happened,” the company’s CEO, Russell P. Allen, tells Teresa Annas of The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk):

UPDATE: The Virginia Opera appointment is “part of an amicable resolution,” Mark writes in an April 28 letter to patrons of Lyric Opera Virginia. He also reaffirms his commitment to his new company, paraphrasing Gershwin: “Our LOV is here to stay."